


The Bones in the Basement

by 18lzytwner



Series: Bones - First Series [6]
Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-20
Updated: 2007-05-20
Packaged: 2019-06-10 12:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15291777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: Booth and Brennan are called out on a new case but Hodgins and Angela aren't back yet. What happens when the case takes an interesting turn? 6th BB Hodgela.  Song included is If Everyone Cared by Nickelback





	1. Chapter 1

**4355 Elm Street, Just Outside Richmond, Virginia, Saturday 8:00 a.m.**

          Mark Dykstra headed down the stairs into his basement of his new house.  There was some major work that needed to be done before he moved in two weeks ago but after the last rainstorm and subsequent flood, there was even more work to do in the cellar.  He now understood why most homes in the area had crawlspaces instead of basements.  When the water became too much for the ground to hold, the concrete floor decided to leak like a sieve.  He was just glad that he hadn’t decided to turn the basement into a rec room with a television and other appliances.  Sadly the washer and dryer took quite a hit and he was unsure if they would ever work properly again.

          The first thing he did was to open all the windows and try to let in some fresh air.  The smell of mold was starting to grow and he needed to nip that in the bud.  Next he walked around the space to see what could be saved and what couldn’t.  Most of the cardboard boxes he’d put down there had been soaked right through and the irony was that the stuff in plastic boxes were upstairs.  He cursed under his breath as he moved around the room, realizing that most of his possessions were ruined.  Mark came around the last stack of boxes and saw an odd pattern on the concrete floor.  Puzzled he bent down and felt the ground, only to realize that this section wasn’t made of concrete but was instead dirt; cold, wet dirt.  Mark’s anger grew because the realty agent said that the hole would be dealt with before he moved in.  When he told the movers to place those boxes in the basement, he had no idea the hole was still there.  In fact he hadn’t even thought about it because he was too busy hooking up the appliances and organizing the furniture all over the house.  Angrily, he pounded his fist into the earth and then cried out in pain when his hand hit something solid.  Quickly he rummaged around trying to see what had caused the slight injury only to find something disturbing, a skull.

          “Sweet Home Alabama, Where the skies are so blue, Sweet Home Alabama, Lord I’m coming…” the ring tone didn’t finish as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth picked up his cell phone.  Amazingly his partner didn’t wake up.  Her head remained on his shoulder and her arm was across his chest.

          “Booth.”  He said as loud as he dared.

          “This is Cullen.”  Immediately Booth sat straight up and Brennan was flung to the side.  Her momentum caused her to bounce off the bed and onto the floor.  This caused her to wake up and call out.

          “Ow!” 

          “What was that?”  Cullen asked.

          “Uh, I stubbed my toe on the nightstand, sir.”  Booth lied.

          “I need you to pick up Dr. Brennan and head over to the Richmond suburbs; we have a body that needs the doctor’s expertise.”  Cullen told him.

          “Right away sir.”  The G-man said and he quickly fumbled for a pen and paper to write down the exact address and any details he could get.  His boss relayed the pertinent information and then hung up.

          “So much for spending the day together.”  Brennan said, standing next to his side of the bed.  She had pulled herself up of the floor and straightened the t-shirt and boxers she wore.

          “Sorry babe.  We have a case in Richmond Virginia.”  He smiled his ‘charm smile’ at her.

          “What did I tell you about calling me, babe?”  The forensic anthropologist gave him a look.  In a flash the FBI Agent was on his feet and his hands were wrapped around her shoulders.

          “I love it when you make that face.”  He leaned in and took her lips. 

          “I can’t stay mad at you when you do that.”  She smiled when they parted. 

          “Let’s get ready.  Hopefully we can still get to go out for dinner tonight.”  Booth said.  Quickly the two went about taking showers and getting dressed.  Out in the kitchen, Booth fired up the Mr. Coffee © and Brennan came down the hall from his bedroom.  It was then that it hit the FBI Agent.  She had picked that outfit out of his closet.  _His_ closet had _her_ things.  As of late he’d been thinking about asking her to move in with him but he wasn’t sure if they could pull it off.  Moving in could mean that their relationship would be exposed. 

          “I have to stop by the lab and pick up my kit.”  Brennan told him.

          “All right, I can swing by there and pick you up.”  Booth said.  The forensic anthropologist came over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

          “I’ll see you soon.”  She smiled and headed out of the room.  Soon the apartment door shut behind her and Booth went about fixing the coffee.  He poured two travel mugs full and shut the machine off.  Then made one last sweep of the apartment making sure everything was turned off.  Once he was satisfied, the G-man left the apartment and headed out to his SUV.

          Twenty minutes later, he pulled up at the Jeffersonian.  Hopping out of the vehicle, he walked into the building and went up to the security center.

          “Morning Agent Booth.  Dr. Brennan just came in a few minutes ago.  Stinks you have to come in on a Saturday.”  The security guard said.

          “It sure does, Bob.  I’ll see you later.”  Booth smiled and headed through the doors into the Medico-Legal Lab.  He started to head over to Brennan’s office but she met him half way. 

          “All set?”  He asked.

          “Let’s go.”  She said, kit in hand.  The two left the Jeffersonian and headed toward the SUV.  Once inside, Booth fired up the engine and the headed for their destination.  Brennan had been quiet fingering the silver dolphin necklace he’d given her some months ago.

          “Are you ok?”  He asked breaking the silence.

          “I just realized.  Hodgins and Angela aren’t back from wherever they went.  I haven’t heard from either of them in almost a week.”  Brennan said.

          “Well the State Department must have had a compelling reason for them to take off like that.”  The G-man told her.

          “Half of my team is missing Booth.  Who’s going to determine particulates or give the victim a face?”  She wondered.     


	2. Chapter 2

**Mark Dykstra’s Basement, Monday 10:00 a.m.**

            Booth and Brennan entered the cellar and were glad they were wearing masks over their noses and mouths.  The smell of mold was quite strong despite the windows being open.  The openings were too small to let enough fresh air in and it would take a long time before the air would smell any better.

          “How was this guy living in here?”  Booth asked, trying to keep his breakfast down.

          “Quite simple actually.  His olfactory senses became used to the smell of the mold and only when it became stronger did he realize that he needed some ventilation.”  Brennan explained.

          “So is that what you were talking to the police officer about?”  Her panther wondered.

          “Yes, I told him that Mr. Dykstra needed to go to the emergency room to be examined.  The smell of the mold indicates that it was from a flood and the bacteria can be quite dangerous to inhale.”  She clarified.  Booth nodded and showed her over to the hole in the floor.

          “According to Dykstra, the movers put the boxes in the basement and didn’t tell him the hole was still there.  He also said the realty agent was supposed to have this fixed before he moved in but he didn’t.”  He said as Brennan kneeled down and picked up the skull.

          “Judging by the skull, I’d say it’s been here about fifteen years.” 

          “Any idea how old the victim was?”  The FBI Agent wondered.

          “With the bottom jaw missing, I can’t give you an accurate answer.  Where is the rest of the body?”  She asked as she placed the skull back down.

          “The forensic team said that they were afraid to dig without ruining some evidence.  Considering the concrete floor around it would have to be broken up with picks or a jackhammer, I’d say they made a good call.”  Booth informed her. 

          “We need to bring in a GPR, and scope out the basement floor.”  The forensic anthropologist told him.

          “GPR?”  Her partner made a face.

          “Ground Penetrating Radar.”  Brennan explained.  Again a confused look crossed Booth’s face.  Frustrated, his partner explained.

          “Ground Penetrating Radar Units are what we used to find Epps’ murder weapon when he was on death row.”  She refreshed his memory.  The mention of the name made Booth’s stomach turn.  Even in death, that man still haunted him.

          “Let’s get one of those in here as soon as possible.”  His words were cold and he turned and left.  Brennan realized her mistake and stood up.  _Smooth move_ , she heard inside her head.  Quickly she followed him upstairs and found him talking to the forensic team.  He turned and saw Brennan removing her mask.

          “They’re going to bring one of those units over and hopefully extract whatever is down there without destroying any evidence.  They’ll send the bones to the Jeffersonian.  In the meantime, we need to have a talk with Mark Dykstra’s realty agent, Carl Towers.”  Booth told her.  Her only response was to nod and pick up her kit.  She headed toward the front door, trying to think of something to say to apologize for what she had said.  Booth followed after her.

          Once they were inside the car, Brennan pulled out her cell phone and called Zach.  The young forensic anthropologist promised to alert her as soon as the bones arrived.  Hanging up, she turned to Booth, who steered the SUV down the street.

          “I shouldn’t have brought up…” her partner stopped her.

          “It’s not your fault.  You made a perfectly good reference to an earlier case and I should have been able to handle it.”  He said.

          “So where does this realty agent work?”  Brennan quickly changed the subject.

          “About ten minutes from here.  After we talk to him how about some lunch?”  Booth wondered.

          “Sounds good.  Do you think that Towers knows about the bones?”  She asked.

          “I doubt it.  He would not have sold the home otherwise.  He’s already in trouble for not having the hole patched up, so I hope he’ll be all too willing to help us.”  He said. 

          A few minutes passed and they pulled into the realty agent’s workplace.  Booth shut the engine off and the two headed inside.

          “Welcome to Happy Realty, where we guarantee you’ll find a home that makes you happy.  Can I help you?”  The perky receptionist asked.

          “I’m Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan.  We’re here to see a Mr. Carl Towers.” He explained and flashed his badge. 

          “Mr. Towers office is just down the hall, second on your left.”  She replied. 

          “Thank you.”  Booth offered her one of his charm smiles and the lady practically melted in her seat.  When they were out of sight from her, Brennan gave him a poke in the arm.  He was about to ask what that was all about when Mr. Towers’ office door opened and he walked out.

          “Mr. Towers, we need to speak with you.”  Booth said and flashed his badge.

          “What about?”  He asked.

          “That hole in Mark Dykstra’s basement.”  The FBI Agent told him.  The realty agent swallowed hard and let them into his office. 

          “I can assure you I didn’t break any federal laws.”  Towers said.

          “Oh the hole didn’t but the skull inside the hole certainly doesn’t follow the government’s policies.”  Booth dropped the bomb.  Towers’ face went pale.

          “What?”  He asked.

          “There is a skull approximately fifteen years old.  Currently the FBI forensic team is looking for the rest of the body.”  Brennan told him.

          “I had no idea that was there, you have to believe me.”  Towers said.

          “We’d like to know why you didn’t have that hole patched up and whom the home belonged to before Mr. Dykstra bought it.”  Booth tried to get him to focus. 

          “I hired a crew to patch the hole up but when they looked at it, they told me that they were going to replace the entire basement floor in order to prevent any severe flooding.  It was an expensive job and it would delay Mr. Dykstra from moving in for three weeks.  His apartment lease was up in a week and I wasn’t about to have him living out of his truck so I told him it was taken care of.”  Towers explained.

          “So you left it for him to discover on his own.”  Brennan said.

“You’re going to have a big lawsuit on your hands.  The mold that has accumulated and he’s been breathing in along with the belongings that have ruined are going to cost a lot of money now.  You should have done it right the first time.”  Booth chimed in.

“I realize that but I had no other choice.”  The realty agent tried to reassure himself along with the partners.

“Give us the name of the previous owner.”  The FBI Agent was getting upset with the man.  Quickly, Towers punched up the account on his computer and printed out a copy of the record.

“We’ll be in touch.”  Booth said as he took the printout.  He and Brennan stood up and left the office.      


	3. Chapter 3

**The Diner, Back in D.C., Monday 12:30 p.m.**

          Booth and Brennan sat enjoying their lunch and looking over the printout that the realty agent gave them. 

          “This isn’t that helpful is it?”  Brennan realized as she gave the paper to Booth.

          “Well all I need is a name.  I called Sam up and he promised to call back with any information he found.”  He told her as he took a sip of his water and then grabbed a few French fries off his plate.

          “According to the sheet, Michael Hill has owned the house for almost thirty years.”  The forensic anthropologist said as she took a bite of her salad.    

          “Seems kind of open and shut.  Obviously he had to know about the body in the basement and probably buried it there himself.  Cover it up with concrete and nobody knows it’s there.”  Booth acknowledged picking his burger up. 

          “So then why break up the basement floor?”  Brennan wondered.  Her partner chewed his food before answering.

          “That is a very good question.  There was no way for Carl Towers to know it was there.  In fact if not for the hole in the floor, Mark Dykstra never would have found it either.”  Booth had a strange feeling in his gut.  The look on his face gave it away.

          “What does your infamous gut say?”  Brennan asked.

          “That something is seriously wrong with this whole picture.”  He said.  The two finished their meal in relative silence.  Booth paid for lunch and the two hopped back into the SUV and headed out to the new address that the paperwork had stated was Michael Hill’s new address.

“Why would Michael Hill move from the wonderful neighborhood he was into one of D.C.’s worst neighborhoods?”  Brennan asked as they made a right onto a side street.

“I have no idea.”  Booth told her as he checked to make sure the doors were locked.  Many of the homes had bars on their doors and windows.  Graffiti was present on buildings that looked as though they had been empty for a long time.  Children hung out on the dilapidated playground they passed, which itself had been covered in graffiti.  Older boys played a game of basketball on the court near the playground.  It was obvious to Brennan that the court was in bad shape as well because only one backboard remained standing and there seemed to be a random pole stuck out in the middle of some very high grass.

“This is awful.  Children shouldn’t have to live like this.”  She said as Booth pulled the vehicle up to the address.  He didn’t answer her and she wondered what he was doing until she noticed what he was looking at. 

There had been a house there but it no longer stood.  Charred remains of what had been a home lay in piles.  The fire had been bad enough that the house had collapsed on itself.

“Now what?”  She asked.

“I’m going to drop you off at the Jeffersonian and then I’m heading to the office to see what I can dig up.”  Booth quickly turned the SUV around and headed back down the street the way they had come.  As they passed the playground, they realized that all the children were gone, including the older boys playing basketball.

“Where did they go?”  Brennan asked. 

“Well this vehicle screams ‘Cop’ so I imagine they all ran for cover, assuming that there would be more coming.  A neighborhood like this is a breeding ground for drug dealers and gangs.  Only when it’s safe, will the kids come out to play and when there’s a possibility of a bust then they know that the safest place is inside.”  Booth explained as he made a left back out onto the first street they had come from and in a few minutes they were back in familiar territory.

“That’s horrible.  Isn’t anyone doing anything to help them?”  Brennan asked. 

“I have no idea but I’m sure if a certain best-selling author called the local Congressman, he would be more than willing to listen.”  Booth turned and smiled.  Just then his phone rang and he answered it.  He talked to someone for a few minutes while his partner tucked into her salad.  When Booth got off the phone, Brennan could see that something was wrong.

          “What is it?”  She asked.

          “That was Sam.  Michael Hill has been dead for the past twenty years.”  The FBI Agent told her.    


	4. Chapter 4

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Monday 3:30 p.m.**     

          Brennan walked into her office and pulled on her lab coat.  The bones had just arrived and she was eager to take a look at them.  Zach had begun to pull them out of the bag and he said he would wait for her to join him before he started examining them.  His behavior struck her as odd but with Hodgins and Angela gone, she guessed it was to be expected.  The forensic anthropologist pulled her auburn hair back into a ponytail and was about to leave her office when an envelope on her desk caught her attention.  It was from her father.  She desperately wanted to open it but there was a body that needed identifying and she had to put her personal feelings aside.  Leaving the envelope, she went out of her office and over to the platform to take a look at the body.

          “Dr. Brennan, these bones are not those of a grown person.”  Her protégé said.

          “You’re right Zach they appear to be from a young person anywhere from eleven to fifteen years of age.”  She looked at the bones carefully.

          “I found odd markings in between the Thoracic vertebrae, T3 and T4.”  Dr. Addy picked up the two parts of the spine and handed them to Brennan.  She examined them and saw what he meant.  On each vertebra, there was a T-shaped hole.

          “I want you to run these marks through the database.  The weapon had a T-shaped end but it must have had smooth edges because there are no indicators of teeth marks.”  The forensic anthropologist handed the vertebrae back to Zach and he immediately headed over to the scanner.  While he did that Brennan looked over the rest of the skeleton.  The pelvis had been shattered and that would make determining sex more difficult.  She began to group all the pelvic bones together and moved them over to another examining table.  Whoever this person was, they had been brutally attacked.  The sound of a card swiping into the platform diverted her attention only for a moment before she went back to examining the rest of the remains.

          “What do we have?”  Cam asked.  Brennan quickly explained what they had found.

          “Paralysis is a good possibility then.”  The Head of Forensics nodded.

          “There doesn’t appear to be any evidence of the body trying to heal the wounds to the vertebrae so it’s possible that the attacker did this to incapacitate the victim.”  Brennan said as she moved to the cabinet and grabbed up a bottle of super glue.

          “Well can I have the skull and bottom jaw?  I can run the dental records and see if we get any hits.”  Cam wondered.

          “Angela does that.”  The lead forensic anthropologist stated. 

          “Yes well I have no idea when she or Hodgins is coming back so I think I can handle it.  I’ve talked to the FBI and they are going to send over a particulate expert until Hodgins returns.”  Her boss informed her.  Brennan didn’t say anything and just tried to focus on the pelvis.  Zach came over and spoke to Cam.

          “Will you be doing the facial reconstruction too?”

          “Well I’m not that talented but I am in the process of trying to find someone who can.”  She told him.  Zach only nodded as Cam picked up the skull and lower jaw.  She then headed off toward Angela’s office to scan in the teeth.

          “May I assist you Dr. Brennan?”  He asked.

          “Yes, thank you.”  She gave him a small smile and the young man beamed.  The two worked in silence until the pelvis was almost complete.  Suddenly one of the computers began to beep and Zach excused himself to check on it. 

          “There doesn’t appear to be any weapon in the database that matches these markings.”  He informed Brennan.  She didn’t acknowledge him and continued to work on the pelvis.

          “Pelvic reconstruction is complete.  The victim was a female.”  The lead forensic anthropologist said.

          “A female?”  An all too familiar voice replied.  Brennan spun around to see FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth scanning himself onto the platform.  She smiled slightly and answered his question.

          “Yes from the size of the pelvis it indicates that the victim was indeed a female.  Other evidence suggests she was between eleven and fifteen years old.” 

          “Well I did some digging into Michael Hill and it turns out his death was ruled a homicide but never solved.  The Richmond Cold Case Squad is going to send over all the paperwork to my office.  In the meantime, I also found some information on our realtor Carl Towers.  This apparently isn’t the first job he’s botched.  A few years ago, he was caught selling a home that was infested with termites to a family in North Carolina.  The realty company fired him and the family sued him after the fact.”  Booth told her.

          “So Mark Dykstra isn’t the first bad deal he’s made.”  Brennan said.

          “Nope and I can bet he didn’t run a thorough background check which is why he let a dead man sell a house.”  Booth shook his head.

          “How does someone just sell a house that the owner has been dead for so long?”  Zach asked.

          “I have Sam looking into that but Michael Hill’s family would have claimed the house when he died.  Otherwise the house would have gone onto the market.  Tomorrow I’m going to talk to Mark Dykstra and see what Towers told him about the house.  Then I’ll probably haul Towers into headquarters for a friendly chat.”  The FBI Agent explained. 

          “Cam is running the dental records to see if she can get a match.  If she can’t we’ll have to start with missing females between the ages of eleven and fifteen that have been missing for fifteen years.”  Brennan said as she placed the pelvis back with the rest of the skeleton. 

          “That could be like looking for a needle in a haystack.  After seven years people who have gone missing are declared dead, their files might still be in the missing persons database but there are no guarantees.”  Booth told the two scientists.  He then looked at his watch and realized that it was nine-thirty at night. 

          “I’m going to call it a night.  Hopefully after a good night’s sleep I can think a little clearer.  See you tomorrow Bones.”  The FBI Agent told her.  He gave Zach a curt nod and headed back down the platform stairs.

          “Put the bones away Zach.  I’ll be in tomorrow morning to go over them again.”  Brennan told the young anthropologist.  Then she left the platform and called out to Booth.  Her partner turned around and waited for her.

          “Can we go out to get something to eat?”  She asked when she caught up to him.

          “I was hoping you’d say that.”  He smiled.

          “Let me grab my things and I’ll meet you outside.”  Brennan smiled back.  Booth nodded and the forensic anthropologist headed back to her office.  She removed her lab coat, grabbed her purse, and was about to leave when she remembered the note from her father.  Quickly she grabbed that too and headed out. 


	5. Chapter 5

**The Diner, Monday 9:45 p.m.**  

                Booth sat down across from his partner at their favorite restaurant as of late.  He noted the concerned look on Brennan’s face and wondered what was bothering her.  After the waitress took their order, he broached the subject.

          “Why the look Bones?”

          “Huh?”  She replied distractedly.

          “You have one of those apprehensive looks on your face.  What’s bothering you?”  Booth wondered.  The forensic anthropologist paused a few moments before pulling an envelope from her coat pocket and set it on the table.

          “I got this letter from my father.”  The sentence was in a kind of a cold tone.  Booth knew that despite her saying she’d been all right with her father’s arrest, it still was a very sensitive subject.

          “Oh and what’s it say?”  He asked.

          “I haven’t read it yet.  I was hoping that we could read it together.”  Brennan’s tone was beginning to warm up.  Her partner smiled and said,

          “Of course Bones.  Open it up.”  Carefully the forensic anthropologist picked the envelope up and ripped open the top.  Then she pulled the single sheet of yellow paper from it.  Placing it in the middle of the table, both partners leaned in to read it.

          “Temperance,

           I hope that you will come to visit me some time soon.  I know you want to learn about your mother’s side of the family and I will tell you as much as I can without endangering them.  I love you.

Dad

P.S. Bring Booth with you.”

          The waitress came by and dropped off Booth’s cheeseburger and Brennan’s club sandwich.  The letter was quickly folded up and placed back into the envelope.  Neither one said anything for a few minutes as they tucked into their food.  Finally Booth broke the silence.

          “So when do you want to go see him?”  The question didn’t even hint at not going, he wasn’t going to let her wiggle her way out of it.  Brennan stared at him for a few moments and then replied.

          “I don’t know.  I want to learn about my family but I’m still trying to deal with the fact that I have one.  For the past few years my team has been my family, you have been my family and now I actually have blood relatives and I’m not sure what I really want.” 

          “Family is family.  I think you’ve come this far with your father; you should give your aunts the same benefit of the doubt.”  The FBI Agent reached for the ketchup and put some on his plate.

          “But what if they’re just like my dad?”  Brennan asked.  Her mind yelled at her for making such a stupid comment, but the smile on her partner’s face showed that he didn’t notice.

          “Only way to find out is to see your father.  I’ll be with you every step of the way Temperance.  I would never leave you to handle this on your own.”  Booth popped a fry into his mouth and reached across the table.  His partner gave a weak smile and took his hand.  She knew that he was right and that he gave her the strength to do what she needed and that was to see her father. 

**Booth's Office at the Hoover Building, Tuesday 10:00 am**

          Seeley Booth sat at his desk reading the file on the unfortunate Michael Hill.  The Richmond Police had been able to find his file very quickly and it was no surprise why.  Hill’s body, or what was left of it, was found in Lake Anna.  The lake is one of the most popular in Virginia and easily accessible from Richmond.  It was about an hour and fifteen minutes south of D.C. and Booth had taken Parker down there to fish a couple of times. 

Luckily Hill’s body had been found on the “cold” side of the reservoir.  Dominion, a power company in Virginia, owns the “hot” side where the water that is discharged from their facility goes.  That water is very warm and in certain spots too hot to swim in, had Hill’s body gone in there, any evidence that wasn’t already ruined would have been.

The body was discovered by some guys who where motor boating around the lake.  They had struck what they thought at first was a log.  When they looked down they discovered that whoever it was had been in the water a long time.  Booth tried to keep his breakfast down as he looked at the bloated body in the photos.  Twenty years ago, Lake Anna wasn’t as popular as it is today so to ditch a body there wasn’t such a bad idea.  Putting the photos back in the file folder, he picked up the autopsy report and read it.  The coroner had done his best to determine the cause of death but he could only guess.  Multiple gun shot wounds had been evident but with no bullets recovered, the caliber was undetermined.  There was water in his lungs but that wasn’t a huge surprise since he’d been found in a lake.  Forensics back in the day, were just starting to really gain momentum.  So it wasn’t any surprise that the plant and creature activity on the body weren’t used to gauge how long the body had been in the water.  The coroner said that based on the bloating of the corpse and the temperature of the water, he figured at least three days.  Making the actual time of death close to May fourteenth of nineteen eighty-seven.  The information absorbed into Booth’s head and he closed the file.  His mind was slowly starting to piece together a theory when there was a knock on his door.

          “Come in.”  Booth called.

          “Morning Agent Booth.”  A medium height man with blonde hair and glasses walked into the room.

          “Morning Sam.  What do you have for me?”  The two shook hands and Booth offered the information man a seat.

          “I just got word that the mold taken from Mark Dykstra’s basement is being run by our guy that we loaned the Jeffersonian.  Needless to say, his reception over at the institute was not as warm as he would have hoped.”  Sam told him.  Booth’s face dropped at this.

          “Apparently Dr. Brennan felt like he was intruding.”  A groan escaped the G-man’s lips as his go-to-guy told him this.

          “Sorry buddy.  Anyway, the hospital has reported that Dykstra has a very nasty cough and a continuous sneezing problem.  Until we can nail down what he inhaled, they’re trying to make him comfortable.”  Sam said.

          “Why don’t they have him on antibiotics?”  Booth asked.

          “I guess they’re afraid that if they don’t give him the right meds he could have a more serious problem.  I’m guessing he must be allergic to certain kind of antibiotics.  Once they know what kind of mold it is then they can properly diagnose it and look for alternative options.”  The blonde man rubbed his left eye.

          “You ok?”  Booth wondered.

          “I’m waiting for my allergy medication to kick in.  Once that pollen gets in the air, it does a number on me.”  Sam smiled.

          “Well good luck with that and thanks for the info.  I’m going to head over to the Jeffersonian and see if I can’t talk to Dr. Brennan.”  The FBI Agent informed him.

          “All right I’ll call you if I hear more from the hospital.”  Sam shook Booth’s hand and left the office.  A few minutes later, with all the case information he had, Booth took off for the parking garage and his SUV.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Tuesday 10:45 am**

          Dr. Temperance Brennan leaned over the remains on the examining table.  Zach had been cleaning them up and found some dark spots on the bones.  Upon further inspection, both forensic anthropologists concluded that it was evidence of blood pooling.  The stain stretched from the T3 and T4 vertebrae over the posterior sections of the ribs below it.

          “The thrust of the weapon didn’t kill her immediately.  She bled and it pooled.”  Brennan said.

          “It would indicate that she bled in the same spot until she was moved and buried.”  Zach nodded.  The sound of a card being swiped alerted them to another presence and the two anthropologists turned to see Agent Booth standing there.

          “Bones, can I talk to you for a moment?”  Before she could say anything, Zach piped up.

          “I’m going to go over the X-Rays.  They should be back by now.”  The young man gave the partners a nod and then disappeared off the platform.

          “What is it Booth?”  Brennan turned back to the bones.  However, this wasn’t going to work for her partner.  He grabbed her arm and she immediately turned to him.

          “What are you doing?”  The forensic anthropologist demanded.  Booth winked at her and she gave him a confused look.

          “Let’s go have a chat in your office.”  He said.  Brennan didn’t put up a fight as he led her gently to her office.  Once inside, Booth let go of her, placed the file box onto her coffee table, and closed the door.  He then drew the shades so that no one could see in.

          “What’s going on?”  Brennan wondered.

          “I just spoke to Sam and he tells me that the FBI particulate guy was not met with a warm welcome this morning.”  Booth seemed to be all serious.

          “Criminalist Jones is doing Hodgins’ job.  It’s another intrusion by the FBI.”  She told him. 

          “Oh so I’m an intruder.”  He said.  Brennan immediately realized what she had done and cursed herself.

          “No, that’s not what I meant.”  The forensic anthropologist collapsed onto her couch and put her head in her hands.  Booth quickly sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

          “Temperance, are you ok?”  The use of her first name made Brennan look up at him.  Booth could see the torment in his partner’s eyes.  They weren’t as sparkling blue as they normally were but a dull shade. 

          “While Zach was cleaning the bones he found the lower ribs and vertebrae were stained.  She lay in a pool of her own blood.  Between the internal bleeding from the shattered pelvis and external bleeding from the wound in the vertebrae, the victim died a slow horrible death.”  Booth absorbed what she said and shook his head.

          “Who kills a young girl like that?”  The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “Probably the same people who shot Michael Hill three times and then dumped his body into Lake Anna.”  Her partner pulled the file box closer to them.  Brennan took the file he handed her from the box and quickly scanned it over.

          “Three shots, one to the right knee, one to the left thigh, and the final shot to the abdomen.  No bullets were recovered?”  She asked.

          “All the wounds must have been through-and-throughs.  The FBI diver team searched the bottom of Lake Anna but didn’t find any bullets.”  Booth told her.  Brennan gave him a tight smile and placed the file down.  The G-man pulled her close and kissed her forehead.  Then his lips moved down and kissed her temple, then her cheek.  Bones turned to him and pushed her lips to his.  Their tongues darted about until there was a knock on her office door.  Quickly the two separated and straightened themselves up.  Brennan went to answer it while Booth piled the files back into the box.

          “Dr. Brennan, I found something else, that you need to take a look at.”  Zach told her.  The senior forensic anthropologist followed him out to the platform with Booth not too far behind.  Once up on the platform, Zach grabbed up the X-Rays and held them up for the partners to see.

          “There are apparent healed fractures to both radii, as well as one on her clavicle.”  He said.  Brennan took a look and saw that he was correct.

          “Why didn’t we notice this earlier?”  She asked.

          “I’m running the bones through the cleaner at the moment.  They were still connected so I had to be careful loading them in.”  The young doctor explained.

          “Kids fall and break their bones all the time.”  Booth said.

          “True.  We’ll need her medical records to see if the doctors noted anything in her records.  Good work Zach.  In my office are the files on Michael Hill.  I want you to go through them and see if we can get the body exhumed.”  Brennan told him. 

          “Yes Dr. Brennan.”  Zach nodded and quickly went off to the office.  A swipe was heard and Cam walked up onto the platform.

          “The dental records are still coming up empty.  I’ve called in a specialist, Dr. Gallagher, to do any possible facial reconstruction.”  She told them.  Brennan gritted her teeth and Booth spoke up before she could say anything.

          “Any luck with the mold?” 

          “Mr. Jones is running it through the system.  He hopes to have an answer soon.”  Cam said.

          “Well I’m taking Bones and we’re going to visit Mark Dykstra.  Then we’re going to talk to Carl Towers again.  Call the hospital immediately when Jones has identified the mold.”  The FBI Agent told her.  He then led Brennan off to her office to pick up her coat and then the two headed out for the SUV.

          On the drive toward the hospital, Booth’s phone rang.  He picked it up and spoke at length with someone Brennan assumed was Sam.  When he finally got off the phone, they had pulled into the hospital’s parking ramp.

          “Sam says he looked into Michael Hill’s family and found that he had a sister, Sherry Tollar.  Sherry and her daughter, Lily, went missing fifteen years ago.  He’s sending the forensic team back to the house to check the basement for the mother’s body and he’s sending all the information in the family over to the Jeffersonian.”  Booth informed her.

          “So Michael Hill is murdered twenty years ago, then five years later his sister and his niece go missing.  Now if that is Lily Tollar’s body in the basement.  Why was she murdered in her uncle’s house?”  Brennan asked as they disembarked from the SUV.

          “Sam says that Sherry reported Michael missing so it’s possible they were living together.”  Her partner shrugged.

          “Call Sam back and have the forensic team check for a blood pool.  If our victim is in fact Lily Tollar, her blood should be in the house somewhere.  They’ll have to use Luminol to find it but it should be there.”  The forensic anthropologist said.

          “Yes ma’am.”  Booth smiled and made the phone call before they entered the hospital.


	7. Chapter 7

**Mark Dykstra’s Hospital Room, Tuesday at 11:30 am**

          Booth and Bones entered the room of Mr. Dykstra to find him in the middle of a sneezing fit.  The nurse was standing by his side making sure he had plenty of tissues.  From the looks of things, he definitely needed them.  When he was done sneezing, the nurse smiled and said,

          “You’re going to break a record if you keep this up.  Twenty-five in a row.”

          “How many did I have last time?”  Mark asked.

          “Seventeen.”  The nurse gave him a high five with her gloved hand.

          “Couldn’t have done it without you.”  Dykstra smiled as she left the room.

          “Mr. …” Booth started.

          “Please call me Mark.”

          “Ok, Mark.  Do you remember Dr. Brennan?”  The FBI Agent asked.

          “Of course.  Nice to see you again Doctor.  I’d shake your hand but I doubt you want to touch the walking allergy factory.”  Mark joked.

          “We were wondering if you could tell us what Carl Towers told you about the house you recently purchased.”  Brennan smiled.

          “Well I can tell you he never said anything about a dead body.  I guess I’m going to have to move again.”  Dykstra frowned.

          “Anything else stick out?”  Booth wondered.

          “Yeah.  I met the guy who was selling the house, a Mike something.  Carl said that he usually didn’t have the previous owners meet the new one but apparently this guy did.”  Mark told them.

          “Mike Hill?”  Both partners asked at the same time.  The sick man gave them a strange look and then continued.

          “That’s the guy. Anyway, the weird thing was that he said the basement flooded every once in a while and I had to be careful.  One time I heard him arguing with Carl about the hole in the floor.” 

          “They were arguing?”  Booth asked.

          “Yeah, we were supposed to meet a second time and Carl was late so Mike called him up.  He was telling him that he wanted to fill in the hole himself and not have a contractor do it.  Personally, I thought previous owners had to fix stuff by themselves anyway so I didn’t understand what the big deal was.”  The man rubbed his eyes. 

          “Can you describe the man you met as Michael Hill to a sketch artist?”  The FBI agent wondered.

          “Of course but don’t you have a file on him already?”  Mark asked. 

          “Michael Hill has been dead the past twenty years.”  Brennan informed him.

          “That’s not possible, I talked to him.”  The sick man couldn’t believe it.

          “We believe that someone was impersonating him to get rid of the house.  Mr. Towers is a less than reputable realty man who would not ask a lot of questions and had the hole been filled in then I have no doubt we wouldn’t be doing this right now.”  Booth explained.

          “Unbelievable and I thought Miami was nuts.”  Dykstra shook his head.  Booth smiled and nodded.

          “Thanks for your time.  We’ll keep you informed about the house.” 

          “No problem, just do me one favor.”  Mark said.

          “Sure.  What is it?”  The G-man asked.

          “Catch the sick son of a bitch that did this.”  Dykstra told them.

          “You don’t have to worry.  Dr. Brennan is the best at what she does.  If anyone can find evidence it’s her.”  Booth smiled and Brennan smiled back.

          “Good.”  Mark smiled.  The partners left the man to rest and headed out to the SUV.

          “So what’s next?”  The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “We’re going to haul Mr. Towers in for a not so friendly chat.  I want to know why he’s been lying to us.”  Booth said as he fired the big vehicle up.

**FBI Headquarters, Interrogation Room 1, Tuesday at 1:00 pm**

          Brennan stood behind the one-way glass window and watched Booth pull out a seat across from the recently brought in Carl Towers.  The look on his face was one of irritation.

          “You know why I brought you down here?”  Booth asked.  All the realty agent did was shake his head no.

          “I brought you here because you lied to me, Carl and as a Federal Agent, I don’t like being lied to.”  Booth told him.

          “I didn’t lie.”  Towers said.

          “Oh and I suppose that the phony address for a dead man isn’t a lie?”  The FBI Agent asked.

          “What are you talking about?”  Towers was playing hard to get.

          “I’m talking about the fact that the real Michael Hill has been dead for twenty years and the address you gave my partner and I, was a burned up crack house.”  Booth stood up from his seat and put his hands on the table.  He was hoping that the realty man would give him something. 

          “I didn’t know, I swear.”  Came the reply.

          “You’re supposed to do background checks.  You would have realized that the man was dead and that his sister claimed it when they found his body.  Conveniently his sister and her daughter have been missing for the past fifteen years.  You would have known this and called the police but since you already had an issue with the law you didn’t bother.  Another convenient fact that you never led a state inspector through either the Gresko’s home in North Carolina or Hill’s home in Virginia.  I see a lot of state charges being brought against you, then there’s the fact that Mark Dykstra is sicker than a dog.”  The G-man began to pound Towers waiting for a reaction.  Brennan could see the man beginning to sweat but he gave Booth no answer.

          “Did you think you could get away with it?  Covering up the fact that there was a body in the basement?  Mark Dykstra heard you and the supposed Michael Hill arguing about filling in the hole.  The fake Hill wanted to fill it in himself and you kept telling him that you had to let a contractor do it.  Then I remembered you said that you hired a crew to patch the hole and it hit me.  The realtor doesn’t hire a contractor to fix things, the homeowner does.  So when Hill wouldn’t let a crew into his house then you made up the lie to cover your ass, thinking that he would fill in the hole.  He didn’t and you sold the home without checking it, another state violation.  You’re going to lose your license and maybe even have a Federal obstruction of justice charge, so why don’t you tell me the truth.”  The FBI Agent told him.  At this point, Towers broke down.  He spilled everything he knew about the man he’d known as Michael Hill.  Most of it Booth had already figured out but it was the last part that got his attention.

          “I called him one more time about the hole and the house’s land line had been disconnected.  Then I called his cell phone and got nothing but voicemail.  He never responded and I went over to the house and found it completely empty except for the final paperwork that had his signature on it.  He just vanished.” 

          “Vanished?”  Booth asked.  The man nodded. 

          “Do you have the final paperwork in your office?”  The FBI Agent asked.

          “Of course, it’s in my file cabinet.”  Towers said.  At that point, Booth signaled for the Virginia police to take him into custody to answer for his misdealings.  Then he met Brennan outside the room.

          “Are you hoping for fingerprints?”  She asked.

          “Yes, maybe then we’ll get some sort of clue as to who the person is we’re looking for.”  He told her.  Just then his phone rang and he quickly picked it up. 

          “Booth.”  There was a long pause as he was listening to the person on the other end.  After a few minutes, he thanked the caller and hung up.

          “What’s going on?”  Brennan inquired.

          “That was Sam.  The forensic team found the blood pool as you suspected in the kitchen but they didn’t find a second body.  However, he pulled out Lily Tollar’s file and they have some of her DNA so he was hoping you could extract some from the bones and maybe we can match them.”  Booth told her.

          “Hopefully the marrow won’t be too degraded.  Does he have dental records?”  She wondered.

          “He’s still trying to find them but DNA would be nice.”  He said.

          “Then let’s head back to the lab.”  Brennan nodded. 


	8. Chapter 8

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Tuesday at 2:30 pm**

          “And you think that there will be useful DNA in the marrow?”  Cam gave Booth and Brennan a skeptical look.

          “That’s what we’re hoping.  Until Sam can find the dental records it’s all we have.”  The FBI Agent informed her.

          “All right.  I’ll get my bone saw.”  Cam agreed.  There might not be much left of the marrow but if it meant getting justice than it was worth the effort.  The Head of Forensics went into the autopsy room with both of the victim’s femurs.  Hopefully one would provide just enough of what they needed.  She then pulled on a lab suit to cover herself and a plastic face shield for eye protection. 

          “Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.”  The high-pitched whiny noise of the saw filled the room and the ex-New York City coroner brought the blade down into the left femur.  The noise changed into a lower-pitched noise as it ground the bone into powder.  Soon the bone was cut away and Cam turned the saw off.  She looked at the inside of the bone and saw that the end was damaged and there wasn’t much left.  Next she’d have to try the middle and hope that she didn’t have to make too many cuts. In a way she often felt that she was mutilating the victims but she thought that if she was the victim wouldn’t she want law enforcement to do whatever it took to find her killer?

          “Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.”  The saw came back to life as she picked it up again.  Luckily the middle turned out to be more useful.  A smile spread across Cam’s face as she took a few samples.  Then she set about cleaning up the mess she’d made.  While she was doing that the FBI Criminalist Jones entered the room.

          “Ma’am, I found out what the mold is.” 

          “Lay it on me.”  The Head of Forensics said.

          “Stachybotrys chartarum, a greenish-black mold usually found outdoors but also found in a flooded or damp home.  It needs constant moisture to grow and I imagine that the recent rains left quite a bit of water in Mr. Dykstra’s basement.”  Jones told her.

          “Yes, I’m sure it did.  Homes in Virginia were never meant for basements but from what I’ve heard the house was built on a hill so they built it with one.”  Cam nodded.  “Call the hospital and inform them of what you found.”

          “Yes ma’am.  Any other particulates I could test?”  He asked.

          “No, not yet Rodger.  Thanks.”  The Head of Forensics smiled and continued to clean up as the Criminalist Jones left her.

          Thirty minutes later, she emerged with the bones and samples and brought them over to the platform.  Brennan was standing over the skeleton, a look of determination on her face.

          “Dr. Brennan, find anything?”  Cam asked as she put the bones back on the table.

          “I’ve examined all kinds of bodies.  People buried in mass graves, discarded in bodies of water, thrown into piles of garbage, and all sorts of other horrible atrocities and I still can’t help but wonder why children have to die.”  The forensic anthropologist said.

          “There’s no rhyme or reason to it.  No good excuse.  All we can do is catch the bastards.”  Cam shook her head.  “Jones identified the mold and called the hospital.  Also I was able to retrieve a useable DNA sample from the left femur.  Where is Booth?”

          “He went back to his office to grab anything he could get on Lily Tollar.”  Brennan explained.

          “All right, when he gets here, let me know and I’ll run the comparison right away.”  The Head of Forensics then left the forensic anthropologist alone on the platform.  Brennan picked up the pieces of the left femur and placed them in the correct spot below where the pelvis should be and above the lower legs bones.  She then placed the whole right femur in its correct space.  The skeleton was now complete again.  Brennan began to wonder what was taking Zach so long to analyze the pelvis when a swipe on the platform’s security center could be heard.

          “Hey Bones.”  An all too familiar voice met her ears.

          “Hello Booth.  Do you have the DNA sample?”  She asked.

          “Yes and the file.  Lily Tollar was thirteen when she and her mother disappeared.  She loved to play soccer and played the tuba in the middle school band.”  The FBI Agent sighed.  Brennan quickly called Cam’s office phone and told her that the sample was here.  The Head of Forensics promised to be right over.

          “I have something I’d like to discuss with you, so I was wondering if we could read the file in your office.”  Booth said.

          “I was planning to head over there anyway.  Zach is still analyzing the pelvis for any kind of determination as to how it was shattered.  Jones found the mold type and called the hospital so hopefully Mr. Dykstra will get the right kind of medication.”  Brennan told him.

          “Good, the sketch artist is going to bring the drawing over to my office later today and then I’m going to send it across the country.  If the guy sold the house and took off like Towers said then he probably isn’t in Virginia anymore.”  Her partner said.

          “The sample?”  Cam asked as she swiped in.

          “Here it is.”  The FBI Agent handed it over.

          “Hopefully we’ll have results by tomorrow.”  She said and quickly headed over to the processor.  Then Booth and Brennan headed for the forensic anthropologist’s office.  The G-man closed the door and his partner took a seat at her desk. 

          “Rebecca is dropping Parker off tomorrow night.  She called me up and said that she has a business trip to go on.”  Booth spilled the beans. 

          “Oh and how long is he going to stay?”  Brennan asked.

          “Until Saturday afternoon.  I was kind of hoping that we could go out together.  You know the three of us.”  He said.

          “I would love to.”  She smiled.

          “Great.  Parker thinks the world of you, you know.”  Booth smiled back.

          “He does?”  Brennan couldn’t believe it.

          “His last visit, he kept asking where Dr. Bwrennan was.”  Her partner couldn’t help but laugh at the expression he got.

          “We have to come up with an easier name for him to call me.”  She laughed.

“That I’ll leave up to.” Booth smiled as his partner pulled out the file and the two read it over.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Wednesday at 9:00am**

          Brennan sat in her office rereading Lily Tollar’s medical files for about the tenth time.  She knew what they indicated but she just didn’t want to believe it.  The fracture to her right radius was in June of nineteen eighty-seven.  It was followed seven months later by the fracture to the left radius in January of nineteen eighty-eight.  Both fractures were noted as possible signs of abuse.  The hospital the girl had gone to had kept immaculate records along with drawings of bruises.  There was no doubt that Lily Tollar had been abused.  The right clavicle break which occurred in August of nineteen eighty-eight was noted from a fall but that could have been abuse as well.

            The forensic anthropologist shook her head.  No matter what she did she couldn’t shake the sudden attachment to the victim.  Maybe it was because she kept imagining Parker being in this situation.  Despite the fact that she didn’t really like children in the beginning, spending time with Parker had changed her.  But the fact of the matter was Parker and Lily were nothing alike.  No similarities existed other than the fact that they were both young children.  Normally, she would have gone to Angela to talk about her confusion but the artist still wasn’t back from wherever she and Hodgins had disappeared to.  A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts.

          “Dr. Gallagher will be in today.”  Cam informed her.

          “If the DNA matches we won’t need him.  We have a photo of Lily.”  Brennan said.

          “Yes but if it isn’t Lily Tollar, we’ll need a face.  Look, I’m not trying to have him take over for Angela but if we need him, we need him.  Your get-out-of-jail-free card isn’t going to work in this case.”  The Head of Forensics warned.  Brennan remained silent and she continued.

          “The DNA will hopefully be through soon.  I got Zach’s request to exhume Michael Hill.  Why do you want to do that?” 

          “There maybe something worth investigating.  The autopsy was done twenty years ago.  If there is something the medical examiner missed then I want to find out what it is.  Besides, there is a good possibility that if there is no remaining family, no objections will be made.”  Brennan made a valid argument and Cam nodded.

          “All right, I’ll file this immediately.”  With that the boss left and Brennan was left alone until Booth knocked on her door not five minutes later.

          “We collected the files in Carl Towers’ office.  The techs got nothing but smudges and a few clean prints of the real estate agent and Mark Dykstra.”  Her partner informed her.

          “How is that possible?”  Brennan asked.

          “He must have warn gloves when filling out the paperwork or he wiped the paperwork down.  It would have been hard to wipe down but it can be done.”  Booth said and she nodded.

          “That wasn’t helpful at all then.”  The forensic anthropologist sighed.

          “On the contrary, if we can match the signature and the other bits of handwriting to another sample we might have something.”  Booth said.

          “There’s an awful lot of ‘if’ and ‘might’ in there.  What about dental records for Lily Tollar?”  She wondered.

          “Sam found her dentist, who has since moved to California, and he promises to ship them priority immediately.  We should have them by tomorrow afternoon.”  He smiled and then continued.

          “Also I sent out that picture of the fake Michael Hill around to every police precinct and FBI field office in Virginia and around the country.  We’ll find him.”

          “Well hopefully the real Michael Hill’s body will tell us something in the meantime.”  The forensic anthropologist told him.  He gave her a confused look.

          “I’m having the body exhumed and brought here.  I want to look at it.”  She told him.

          “Did you and I not read the same report?  The bullet wounds left no evidence other than their entry and exit.  What are you hoping for?”  Booth asked.

          “Well actually, I’m hoping that any family that remains will come out of the woodwork but the body might help anyway.”  A smile crossed Brennan’s face as she told her partner.  He began to chuckle and his face lit up.

          “Bones, you sly devil.”  At that moment, he really wanted to pull her close and kiss her.

          “I learned from the best.”  She teased.  The two settled for a high five instead of a kiss.  It wasn’t the same but they’d make up for it later somehow.

          “So what’s next?”  Brennan wondered.

          “Well I had Sam pull Sherry Tollar’s file.  I’ve read it and I think the next logical person to question is her ex-husband, Charles Tollar, a.k.a Red Faced Charlie.”  Booth told her.

          “Red Faced Charlie?”  She questioned.

          “Apparently he earned his nickname from the brawls he used to get into at the Virginia State Penitentiary and the three assault charges that landed him there.  The file said that he had a very hot temper and it didn’t take much to get him all riled up.  He was released three years before the prison closed in September of nineteen ninty.”  The G-man said.

          “When exactly in nineteen eighty seven?”  Brennan gave him a look.

          “April.  Convenitently Michael Hill was dead the next month.”  He said.

          “I’ll grab my coat.”  Within a few minutes, the two were on the road.

**Charlie Tollar’s House in Richmond, Virginia, Wednesday at 10:30am**  

          Brennan marveled at the historic section of the capital called “The Fan”.  It was so named because the streets took the form of a fan emanating from a certain section of the old city.  Booth saw her take in the architecture and smiled.  Richmond was a wonderful city, full of history and culture.  Forty-five minutes south of D.C. was a little too far for a commute but just the same it was a place he could see Parker enjoying.

          The SUV found a spot to parallel park along the curb and the two got out.  The instant heat and humidity hit them like a wall.

          “It’s going to be another scorcher.”  Booth said.   Brennan nodded as they walked up the front steps and down the pathway to the front door.  The FBI agent rang the doorbell and they could hear movement inside.  About a minute later, a man in his fifties opened the door.  He stood at six foot four and had dark brown hair that was starting to gray.

          “Charles Tollar?”  Booth asked.

          “Yes, and you are?”  The man gave both of them a quick glance.  However, Booth made a mental note that his eyes lingered a little too long on Brennan than he liked.

          “I’m FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan.  We’d like to ask you a few questions about Michael Hill.” 

          “What do you want to know about that son of bitch?  Pardon my language ma’am.”  Tollar said as he let them into the house.  Brennan nodded as they sat down in the living room.

          “Why do you call him that?”  Booth asked.

          “Well he’s the reason I spent three years out of the nickel I was sentenced for on those bogus assault charges.”  Tollar told them.  Something didn’t quite make sense and Booth asked him about it.

          “The day you were arrested, you had been fighting in a bar.  How was Michael Hill involved?”  The FBI agent wondered. 

          “He was the reason I was in that bar in the first place.  My wife and I got into an argument and he stepped in between us.  Told me that if he ever found out I was hitting my wife again, he’d call the police.  I stormed out and went to Lucky’s, a bar that closed a few years ago.  I was mad and drunk when I got into it with those guys.”  Tollar explained.

          “You hit one man with a beer bottle, another you hit with pool balls and then broke some pool cues over his leg, and the third man you sent to the hospital with blood coming out his ears.  That was a little more than getting into it.”  Booth said.  Brennan wondered why the conversation had taken an almost hostile tone. 

          “Well I was very drunk and very stupid.  In prison, I tried to start something a few times but I always ended up losing.”  The man sighed.  “I paid my debt and I’ve changed my ways.”

          “Was that before or after you dumped Michael Hill’s body in Lake Anna?”  Brennan spoke up.

          “I had nothing to do with that.  The police back then questioned me but I was out of town when it happened.  Check the file.”  Tollar said. 

          “We did.  That’s why we’re here.  With your wife and daughter missing, the only person left to answer our questions is you.  Do you know of anyone who wanted to kill your brother-in-law?”  Booth asked.

          “No.  I had no answer for the cops back then and I still don’t have one now.  He was a good guy and I understand why he got in my face about his sister.  What I used to do to her was wrong and I wish I could take it back.”  The ex-convict told him.

          “Someone used his name and tried to sell his house.  Any ideas on that?”  The G-man wondered.

          “When my wife and daughter went missing, I washed my hands of that house.  We’d been separated for almost four years and they were living in it.  I wanted nothing to do with that place but since the house was in my wife’s name I couldn’t do anything with it.  When the police declared her legally dead in nineteen ninety-nine, I assumed the house went onto the market.”  Tollar said.

          “Well thank you for your time.  If you think of anything just give me a call.”  Booth handed the man his card and the two shook hands.

          “I hope you can figure it out.  Any word on my family and you’ll contact me right?”  The man asked.

          “Of course.  Have a good day.”  Booth said and he and Brennan got up and went back to the SUV.  Once inside the big black vehicle, the FBI agent turned to his partner.

          “You asked an awful loaded question in there.  What ever happened to letting me ask the questions?” 

          “I wanted to know something and we got an answer didn’t we?”  Brennan got a little defensive.

          “All right, we did, but from now on let me handle this guy.  He kept looking you over like you were a piece of meat and I don’t like it.”  Booth said as he started the SUV. 

          “Well I appreciate your concern.  He did give me a creepy look.”  She told him.

          “Anyway did you notice how he always referred to his wife and daughter?  He never said their names.”  The ex-Army sniper commented.

          “Yes, that seemed odd.”  Brennan agreed.

          “Let’s get back to the lab.”  Booth flicked on his directional and they made a right back onto the highway.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab Wednesday at 1:15 pm**

          Brennan took a sip of her bottled iced tea and looked at the file that was on her desk.  She and Booth had just met Dr. Gallagher.  He was a nice personable fellow who had been in the business a long time.  He had said that he was on his way out, which could only mean one thing, that file was confirmation of Lily Tollar’s DNA.

          “Bones, I’ve been thinking.”  Booth broke her train of thought.

          “What have I told you about that?”  Dr. Saroyan said from the doorway.

          “Nice to see you too Cam.”  The FBI agent smirked.

          “Dr. Brennan did you fail to mention something earlier about that exhumation?”  Cam ignored Booth’s comment.

          “No.  Why what’s going on?”  The forensic anthropologist wondered.

          “Oh maybe because security is holding a very angry woman who claims that we have no right to dig up her cousin.  You said there was no remaining family.”  Dr. Saroyan told her.

          “I said there was a good possibility of no remaining family.  Have security bring her in here.  Booth and I would love to talk to her.”  Brennan corrected her.  Cam narrowed her eyes at the forensic anthropologist but said nothing as she left the room.

          “Good job Bones.  You keep this up and you’ll be out of a job soon.”  Booth shook his head.

          “What?  I told the truth.  ‘Good possibility’ is what I said.”  Brennan defended herself.

          “Anyway we should talk to the nurses that attended to Lily Tollar and see if they can remember her.  It’s a slim chance but we’re grasping at straws.”  Her partner told her.

          “Sounds good but I want to look at Michael Hill.  Can you cover the questioning and then hopefully by the end of the day we’ll have more answers.”  She suggested.

          “All right.  Parker is going to be over at my place tonight, don’t forget.”  Booth said.  Brennan nodded as two security guards arrived with a woman about five foot four with red hair.  She was thin and wore a khaki knee-length skirt with a maroon top.

          “Thanks Bob and Tom.”  The two men nodded and left the room as Brennan stood up.

          “Why did you dig up Mike?”  The woman’s tone was harsh.

          “Ma’am, I’m Special Agent Booth of the FBI and this is my partner, Dr. Brennan.  A recent case has brought evidence to light and we hope that your cousin can help.”  Booth tried to be nice.

          “Why wasn’t I informed?”  She asked.  Booth took a deep breath and answered her question.

          “According to the record, Michael Hill didn’t have any cousins left.  You are not his cousin and I cannot discuss an ongoing case with a non-family member.”  At this the woman turned from Booth and looked at the floor.  She knew she had been caught in a lie.

          “I’m not his cousin, you’re right. I’m his sister.”  The words hung in the air.

          “You’re Sherry Tollar?”  Brennan asked.

          “Yes.”  She answered.

          “Ma’am, I need some sort of proof that you are in fact who you claim to be.”  Booth said.

          “Would a social security number do?  Or a driver’s license?”  Sherry asked.  The FBI agent nodded.  Mrs. Tollar dug around in her purse and pulled out two wallets.  The second one she handed to Booth and then she opened the first one and laid it on the table in front of her.  The driver’s license pictures were close with a younger picture of her, she had pulled out.

          “Is this Lily and your husband, Charles?”  Booth asked.

          “Yes.”  Sherry answered but didn’t elaborate.

          “We exhumed your brother because someone posing as him sold his house and the new owner found skeletal remains in the basement.”  Brennan went ahead and explained.

          “Were they my Lily’s?”  The woman asked.

          “Yes, we confirmed her DNA not long ago.”  Brennan told her.  To the partner’s surprise, Sherry only nodded.

          “I knew she was gone, I just knew it.”  She sighed.

          “Forgive me but you don’t seem that upset that your daughter is dead.”  Booth said.

          “I am upset.  My stomach is churning as we speak but the only way for me to even grieve properly is to see that bastard rot in prison.”  Tollar explained.

          “You were declared missing fifteen years ago.”  Brennan stated.

          “I don’t know who did that.  But one night I came home from work and Lily didn’t come to the door as she always did.  I went to unlock the door and found it open.  I know I shouldn’t have gone into the house but I feared that something had happened to Lily.  Once I was in the kitchen, I almost slipped and fell on something on the floor.  It was blood.  I ran around looking for Lily but I didn’t find anyone.  I tried to call 911 but the phone line was dead.  Then I heard noises coming from the basement.  My husband was coming out of the cellar, the only place I hadn’t looked, covered in blood.  He lunged at me and I headed for the door.  The next thing I remember is waking up in my car, the sound of rushing water woke me.  My car was filling up with this nasty, filthy water.  I managed to break the back window and I swam to the top.  After that, I changed my name and went to live in Virginia Beach.  Since my husband thought I was dead, I decided to become Lisa Tasker.”  Sherry told them.

          “Your husband declared the two of you missing.  Why would he do that?”  Booth asked.

          “I don’t know.”  The woman answered.

          “Why didn’t you call the police?”  He asked another question.

          “They couldn’t figure out who killed my brother, I wasn’t about to have them feed me to my husband.”  Sherry said. 

          “But they would have had him on attempted murder and murder charges.”  Brennan cut in.

          “At the time, I assumed it was Lily’s blood.  I had no proof.  I still can’t understand why he would kill Lily in the first place.”  Tollar explained.

          “He abused your daughter.  The hospital records prove it.  Two broken radii and a broken clavicle, the bruises shaped like handprints, and you think he wouldn’t kill her?  He even admitted that your brother broke up a fight between you and your husband and told him to stop hitting you.  Even if he somehow accidentally killed her, the abuse formed a pattern.  How could you not see it coming?”  The forensic anthropologist lost it.  Booth’s eyes were wide when she finished her tirade.  He fully expected Sherry Tollar to haul off and hit his partner but she didn’t.

          “Charlie promised he’d stop.  We moved into my brother’s place after he died because Charlie said it was bigger than our apartment.  He talked about getting a dog and having a yard to play in.  After the accident with Lily’s shoulder, he promised to never do it again.  Like a fool, I believed him.  For almost four years we were so happy and then I came home and found that… I just didn’t know what to do.”  She told them.

          “I apologize for my partner but we still have a lot of unanswered questions.  Do you know which body of water your husband put the car in?”  Booth asked.

          “No, I didn’t recognize it.”  Sherry said.

          “How about the house?  Was your husband ever added to it as an owner?”  The FBI agent continued.

          “Yes we had him put on in case something happened to me, then he and Lily would still have a place to live.”  She replied.

          “Do you recognize this man?  He was posing as your brother.”  Booth pulled out a copy of the sketch that the artist had done from Mark Dykstra’s description.  Sherry looked at it and thought about it.

          “No, I don’t directly although he does look familiar.”  The small paragraph under the drawing said the man was between six foot two and six foot five, average build with dark brown hair.  The moustache and beard were the same color.  He had green eyes and there was a scar on his chin.

          “Almost sounds like my husband except for the scar, the facial hair, and the eye color.”  Sherry said almost jokingly.


	11. Chapter 11

**Brennan’s Apartment, Wednesday at 7:00 pm**

          Dr. Brennan sat on her couch seemingly staring off into space.  The events of her day flew around in her head.  She could not believe Sherry Tollar and her strange story.  The fact that she allowed herself to be abused just boggled her mind.  Booth had explained that in many situations the woman would stay with her abusive boyfriend or husband because she was afraid to leave or in some strange way the woman believed she deserved it.  No one deserved to be treated that way.  She had had cases where bodies were brutally beaten, dismembered, and other forms of torture inflicted on them but this case really defied logic; something she based everything in life off of.

          “BRRRIIING!”  The telephone snapped her back to reality.  There was only one person she knew it had to be.  After three rings the answering machine kicked in.

          “Hello this is Dr. Brennan.  I’m not home right now but leave you name and number and I’ll try to get back to you.”  A beep sounded followed by a familiar voice.

          “Bones, I know you’re there.  Pick up the phone.  Parker is here and he’s asking for you.  Please call me.”  He hung up without any affectionate words.  Brennan wasn’t sure she could handle this right now.  She got up and pressed the ‘play’ button.  Before it even got through the intro of the date and time, she pressed ‘delete’.

          “Message deleted.”  The machine confirmed.  Satisfied, she walked into the kitchen and fired up the coffee pot.

          Over at Booth’s place, he sighed and put the phone back in the cradle.  He’d called her office, her cell, and finally her apartment, leaving basically the same message on all of her phones.  Parker was playing on the floor with his fire truck.

          “Is Dr. Bwrennan coming?”  he asked.  Booth gave a small smile and tousled the boy’s hair.

          “I hope so bub.  I hope so.”

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, Thursday at 9:00 am**  

          In her office, Brennan grabbed the full report on the blood pool and droplets before heading back out to the platform.  Yesterday’s autopsy of Michael Hill’s remains had proven to be slightly useful and she hoped that the evidence wouldn’t lead to another dead end.  No marks on the bones to indicate bullet striations.  The familiar beeping sound of the platform’s security center alerted her to someone else’s presence.

          “So what do you have?”  Booth asked, his tone indicated he was irritated.

          “We found a strange mark on the back of the skull but other than that nothing.  How about you?”  She wondered.

          “Sherry Tollar has been put in protective custody.   If her husband finds out about her still being alive he might try to kill her again or run.”  Her partner said.

          “Why haven’t you arrested him yet?”  Brennan asked.

          “I have witness testimony of attempted murder but that’s it.  No physical evidence to back it up.  As far as Lily, we still don’t know how her pelvis was broken and no proof except for Sherry saying that her husband murdered her.  The court will see a spiteful woman with everything to gain if her abusive husband is put in jail for murdering his own daughter.  It’s not enough to charge him yet and make it stick.  Bedsides as far as Charlie Tollar knows we’re only interested in Michael Hill and we didn’t say anything about finding a body in the house.  Right now, I’ve got some rookie agents keeping an eye on the house if Tollar shows up, they are to arrest him.  He’ll be charged with trespassing and that could give us some assurance of him not leaving.  I have Sam checking into Charlie’s family to see if he had any cousins who could have been posing as Michael Hill.  I also have him looking into how long he’s owned that house in Richmond.”  The FBI agent explained.  Brennan nodded and a silence fell between the two until Zach approached the platform.

          “Dr. Brennan, I’ve been thinking.  What if a gun wasn’t the murder weapon?”  The younger forensic anthropologist asked.

          “What do you mean?”  She asked.

          “Well according to the file, Michael Hill’s body was recovered with apparent gunshot wounds but with the body being in the water for so long it’s possible that they were made by something else.”  Zach explained.

          “There were no tool marks on the bones except for the skull.”  Brennan reminded him.

          “But the weapon penetrated the patella, abdomen, and thigh…” he didn’t get to finish as the senior forensic anthropologist jumped in.

          “They are all soft parts of the body with ample space to avoid the bone.  When I was shot, the bullet passed through my stomach, nicked my small intestine, and missed my spine as it exited through my back.  There was no bone damage.  It’s very possible that something similar happened.  There is plenty of space in the thigh area to avoid bone but the patella is another matter.  You’d have to be an extremely good marksman.  Booth, as an agent you’re taught to incapacitate, then kill right?” 

          “Yes.  We’re supposed to aim for the knee first.”  He replied.

“Well then if our shooter hit Hill in the thigh, it would have slowed him down but not stopped him.  The next shot went into his knee, which would have effectively stopped him from running and the kill shot went into Hill’s abdomen.”  She continued.

“But only someone who was very good with their weapon could do that and neither Michael Hill nor Charlie Tollar have ever bought or got a license for a gun.  So the only option was to use something else.”  Booth realized.  Suddenly he charged off the platform and raced into Brennan’s office.  Quickly the two forensic anthropologists followed him.

“What are you doing?”  Brennan asked as her partner dug through the file box for Michael Hill. 

“There was something I thought was odd when I was reading the autopsy report.  According to the file there was an odd bruising on the back of the head that the coroner couldn’t figure out.”  Booth said. 

“Yes, I saw that and there is an odd shaped mark on the back of his skull.  I’m running it through the weapons database but we haven’t been able to identify what it is yet.”  Zach told him.

“Hill must have been knocked unconscious for the trip out to Lake Anna.  At first this looks like Hill might have been running but what if he was tortured?  No one would have heard him screaming.  He could have been killed out there and then his body was easily disposed of along with our strange murder weapon.  Which could be why the cops never found the primary crime scene.”  The FBI agent was now on a roll. 

“But there would have been massive amounts of blood all over the grass and surrounding terrain.”  Brennan said.

“According to the leading detective, it had been raining for the past two days out there.  Basically the murderer relied on the weather to do his dirty work.”  Booth nodded.

          “So the next step is to find the weapon.”  His partner assumed.

          “Then let’s take a trip to the Lake.”  The FBI agent smiled.   


	12. Chapter 12

**On the Road to Lake Anna, Thursday at 11:00 am**  

          “I’ve got the dive team en route to Lake Anna.  They should be there by one o’clock.”  Booth said as they piled into the SUV. 

          “I thought it only took an hour and fifteen minutes to get there.”  Brennan said, a little confused.

          “They have to get their equipment together and call some guys who are off duty.”  He explained.  She nodded as the big vehicle pulled out of the parking lot of the Jeffersonian.  Soon they had connected to the thruway and were headed south.  Both were quiet for the first half an hour as Booth tried to navigate through the traffic.  A few times Brennan had had the temptation to reach over and flick the sirens on but she instead settled for looking out the window.  They would probably beat the dive team anyway and be very early.

          “So why didn’t you call me last night?”  Her partner asked as they found some open road ahead of them.

          “I was tired.”  Brennan lied and Booth saw right through it.

          “No you weren’t, don’t lie to me Bones, it’s not something you should do. That and you’re bad at it.”

          “You’re right, I wasn’t tired.”  She sighed.

          “So why didn’t you call?  Parker was disappointed.”  The FBI agent said as he changed lanes.

          “I was too wrapped up; I wouldn’t have been much company.”  Brennan told him.

          “Something is bothering you.  We have at least another forty-five minutes to ourselves, why don’t you tell me?  Preferably without me having to pull your teeth so you’ll tell me.”  Booth looked her way; concern was evident on his face even through his sunglasses.

          “I don’t know what that means.”  She said.

          “Just tell me.”  He shook his head.  Brennan paused and took a deep breath, trying to find the right words.

          “Every time I look at Lily Tollar’s remains, I… I just get this awful feeling that that could be Parker.”  The words came a little easier than she had thought.

          “It’s gone so far that I keep seeing him as the one on the examining table.”  The forensic anthropologist spit the last part out afraid that Booth would think she was crazy.  Instead silence fell between them for about thirty seconds.

          “You know I have that same problem but I remind myself that my little boy is safe and that if Lily was my daughter, I’d want someone like you to be on the case.”  Her partner said.

          “This never happened to me before and I really don’t like it.  My personal feelings are beginning to interfere with my work.”  Brennan was very confused.

          “The fact that this is happening is actually a good thing.  I remember a certain forensic anthropologist that told me that she didn’t even like kids.”  A smile crossed Booth’s face.

          “Parker… he’s… he’s changed everything.”  She told him. 

          “Then the ticket to help ease this is to put yourself in the parent’s shoes.  I keep them in the back of my mind and I never let them go until the case is over.  Then I go home and call Parker to talk to him.”  The FBI agent said.

          “I can’t do that.  Sherry Tollar needs serious help and I can’t even imagine what goes through her mind.”  She shook her head.

          “Well yes, Sherry has issues but she still wants her daughter’s murder solved.  She still wants to see the person in jail for what they’ve done.  Personally, I’d like ten minutes alone with the bastard but the law still has to be upheld.  Channel your feelings for Parker into solving the case and you’ll adjust.  I’m not saying that every case with kids won’t get to you because I know they will.  It’s something you’ll never get used to but I’m just trying to get you to be able to deal with it.”  Booth turned onto the exit ramp as they spoke.

          “I’m not used to having a family, my mind is a jumble right now.”  Brennan put her hand on her forehead.  Her partner reached over and patted her knee.

          “I’ll help you the best I can.  That’s what I’m here for.”  He smiled and then focused back on the road ahead of them.

**Lake Anna, Virginia, Thursday at 3:00 pm**   

          “We’ve been searching for two hours and all we’ve managed to find is garbage.  Nothing of interest.”  Captain Stephen Anderson, the dive team leader, said over the walkie-talkie.

          “We have to keep at it at least until sundown.”  Booth told him over the radio.

          “All right, you’re the boss.”  He said. 

          “It seems we just can’t catch a break.”  The FBI agent sighed and blew out a deep breath.  His partner would have said something but her phone rang and she immediately picked it up. 

          “Brennan.”  After about a minute she ended the call with,

          “Thank you Zach.”  Booth looked to her and the forensic anthropologist gave a sigh.

          “The indentation does not match anything in the system.  Zach wanted to scan the mark into the Angelator but with Angela not here…” she didn’t finish.

          “No one else in the lab can run that machine?”  Booth asked.

          “Hodgins.”  Brennan said flatly.

          “That’s peachy.  So now what?”  He wondered.

          “Well he and Cam are going to try to figure it out.”  She said.  Booth gave a low whistle and shook his head.  He was about to make a remark when an excited voice came over the walkie-talkie.

          “Agent Booth!  You’d better see this!” 

          “What is it?”  He asked over the radio.

          “We’ve found something.  I’m sending a boat back to pick you up.”  Captain Anderson said.

          “All right.”  Booth told him. 

          “What could it be that he sounded so excited?”  Brennan wondered.

          “Hopefully something that will help us.”  The FBI agent gave her a charm smile and they headed for the shore where one of the small motorboats appeared. 

          “Watch your step ma’am.”  The dive team member with the name Hint on his shirt said.  He let Booth struggle on his own to which he got a,

          “Let’s go.”  Hint took the hint and got the boat underway.  It only took about three minutes before they reached the other boats sitting near the far shore.  The diver pulled their boat close to the boat where the lead diver sat with a sonar detector.

          “What have you got, Captain?”  The FBI agent asked.

          “I have something that is going to make your day.”  He smiled and passed the device over to Booth.  He looked at it and his eyes went wide.

          “I’d say that’s a late eighties, early nineties station wagon.  I used to have one of those.”  Anderson just continued to smile and Booth couldn’t help but smile back.

          “How long will it take you to get that out?”  The FBI agent wondered.

          “An hour, hour and a half maybe.  But I don’t have anything to get something that large back to the city.”  Anderson told him.

          “I’ll take care of that, you just get it on dry land.”  Booth said.

          “Will do.”  The Captain nodded.  He then began directing his crew on what to do while Hint took Booth and Brennan to the closest shore.  The FBI agent whipped out his cell phone and dialed his office.

          “Sam, I need the forensics team to get a trailer out here to haul a station wagon back to the lab and I need you to look up what the make and model number of Sherry Tollar’s last car was.”  He said.  The information guy said something and then the call ended.

          “You think its Sherry Tollar’s?”  Brennan asked.

          “I’m hoping it is because then I can haul Charlie Tollar in and charge him with attempted murder.  It also could tie him to Michael Hill’s murder.”  Booth told her.

          “What about Lily?”  His partner asked. 

          “I’m not sure Bones but we’ll get him.”  He tried to reassure her.  Then he phone rang and he quickly answered it.

          “Booth.”  He had a short conversation with someone and then hung up.

          “That was Sam.  He says Sherry’s car was a nineteen eighty-nine Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser.  He also says that Charlie Tollar has owned the house in Richmond since nineteen eighty-seven.”  The G-man said.

          “Something doesn’t make sense.  First, Tollar says that he and his wife had been separated for four years before they went missing.  Then Sherry tells us they were living in her brother’s house after Michael died.  Someone is lying.”  Brennan shook her head.

          “Yes and I intend to find out who as soon as we get this car examined.”  Her partner told her.


	13. Chapter 13

**FBI Forensics Lab, Friday at 9:30 am**  

          Booth and Brennan arrived at the lab and went straight for the bay marked “5”.  There the head lab technician, Tommy Chen, was waiting for them.

          “This had better be good, Tommy.”  Booth said as he shook the young man’s hand.

          “Hey I didn’t graduate college at age seventeen because I wasn’t good.”  He smirked.  Brennan was astounded by his comment.

          “Why are you working here?”  She asked.

          “Good benefits and there’s always something interesting for me to do.  That and I’m hoping to become a field agent.”  Tommy smiled.

          “But out of everything you could do…” the forensic anthropologist said.

          “Call me old fashioned but I’d like to work from the bottom up.  That and this was the only government forensics lab left for me to try.”  Chen explained.

          “Yeah great.  Can we get back to the car?”  Booth asked.

          “Oh yeah sorry.  Anyway the car you found in Lake Anna is an Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser from nineteen eighty-nine.  The station wagon model line was halted in nineteen ninety-two it was followed by the entire company in two thousand four.  The serial number matches the last registered owner, a woman by the name of Sherry Tollar.”  Tommy told them.

          “All right but you didn’t have to bring us down here for that.”  Booth said.

          “This is true but again you wanted something really good.  So that’s when we pop the hatch.”  Tommy went over and pulled the trunk open.  The window in the back gate had been broken out which fit with Sherry’s story but what didn’t fit was the item that Tommy pointed out.

          “This vehicle was equipped with only the basics but this little extra wasn’t made by the manufacturer.”  Booth leaned over to see what the forensic scientist meant and saw a seam line along an inside panel.

          “Is that what I think that is?”  The FBI agent asked.

          “We’re about to find out.”  Tommy put a pry-bar in the crack and pulled off the casing.  A long circular metal shaft with a sharpened point and raised left edge was sitting in the compartment.  A wooden handle that had once been attached to it lay next to it.

          “What is that?”  Booth looked at it as Tommy carefully removed it from the secret compartment with his rubber-gloved hands.

          “I’d say it’s a carpenter’s tool.  I watched an Amish carpenter make furniture and this looks like an elongated punch.  It would be to make holes so that pegs could be used to hold the work piece together when it was finished.”  The forensic scientist offered.

          “Who is a carpenter and what is that doing in Sherry’s car?”  Brennan asked.

          “I don’t know.  Any chance we could get DNA off of it?”  Her partner wondered.

          “With all that rust, it’s highly unlikely.  Any usable samples would have been destroyed along with fingerprints.  However after I have examined the piece thoroughly I might be able to tell you if there was blood on it or anything else of interest.”  Tommy said.

          “Can I take this back to the Jeffersonian?”  Brennan inquired.

          “Why don’t you trust my skills?”  The forensic scientist joked.

          “I need to see if I can match the diameter of the tool to the wounds in the photographs of Michael Hill’s body.  That and I need to see if it would be able to pass through the patella and thigh without hitting any bone.  Plus we need to see if the wooden handle broke off in the use of it or it rotted off due to the long exposure to the water.”  She explained. 

          “All right.  Well no problem as long as Seeley fills out the paperwork.”  Chen smirked.  The FBI agent opened his mouth but Brennan never let him speak.

          “He will.”  She said.  At this Tommy chuckled and bagged the possible murder weapon.  He then handed it to Brennan and Booth said,

          “Thanks Tommy always a pleasure.”  The FBI agent smiled and then the two headed back to the SUV.

          “What are you thinking?”  Booth asked his partner.

          “That is weapon may solve the Michael Hill case.”  She told him.

**The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Labs, Friday at 12:30 pm**  

          Booth swiped himself through on the security pole and walked over to his partner, who was standing next to the examining table.  She wasn’t paying attention and just swirled around.  Her eyes ended up finding a nose and two chocolate brown eyes instead of the notepad she was looking for.

          “Hey you.”  Booth said quietly as he smiled.  The urge to wrap his arms around her was almost too great to ignore but Brennan quickly pulled away.

          “Sorry.”  She said with a smile on her face.  They couldn’t help their smiling and it wasn’t until Cam spoke up a few moments later that they focused back on work.

          “What have you got?”  The Head of Forensics asked.

          “The weapon retrieved from inside Sherry Tollar’s car is in fact the one that was used to kill Michael Hill.  It fits in-between the patella’s cartilage and would not leave a mark on the bone.  This is also true for the thigh and abdomen.  Zach examined the handle and there is evidence that it rotted through with the fifteen years of water damage.  He also found that the tip of it matches the impression in the back of the head.”  Brennan explained.

          “So we find the weapon that kills Sherry’s brother in her car and Sherry told us that her husband dumped her car into Lake Anna.  It’s possible that he used her car to ditch not only her but also the weapon he used on her brother.”  Cam said.

          “It kills two birds with one stone but then there’s the trouble of the man that Sherry identified in the picture I showed her of the man impersonating her brother.”  Booth told them.

          “What kind of trouble?” Zach asked as he joined them.

          “Well Sam told me this morning that Charlie Tollar did in fact have a cousin matching that description by the name of Louis Ferry.  However, Ferry in jail in Oregon serving a term for drug possession and attempted robbery for the past seven years.”  The FBI agent explained.

          “So he wasn’t in on the sale of the house.”  Brennan said.

          “No, but he might have an idea how to use our murder weapon.  He used to help in the family business of chair making before moving out west.”  Her partner clarified.

          “That explains a lot.  So Charlie Tollar killed the brother-in-law for threatening to call the police about abusing Lilly and Sherry and for the three years he spent in prison.  Then he tries to kill Sherry because she caught him burying their daughter.  That still doesn’t explain why he killed his daughter.”  Cam said.

          “No and it doesn’t explain why one of them is lying either.  Charlie says that he had moved out and was living in the house he bought in Richmond.  We have proof that he bought the house in nineteen eighty-seven.  The break to Lily’s left arm and right clavicle would have come on days when he visited.  However, Sherry says that the three of them were living in the house until the day that Lily died.  Which doesn’t fit with Charlie saying he washed his hands of the house.”  Brennan spoke up.

          “Is there anyway to tie the murder weapon to either of them?”  Booth asked.

          “With no fingerprints we can only guess that since Charlie has carpentry experience, he used it.  Plus he would have been the only one strong enough to use it to penetrate the areas that it did and be as accurate as he was.”  The senior forensic anthropologist said.

          “I think it’s time we haul both of them in and clear this up.”  Her partner nodded.


	14. Chapter 14

**FBI Interrogation Room One, Friday at 2:00 pm**

                “Thanks for coming down Mr. Tollar.”  Booth said as he sat across from the man.

          “No problem.  What did we need to discuss?”  The ex-convict asked.

          “I hate to have to tell you this but we found Lily’s body.” Booth told him neglecting how long they’d known that.  Tollar swallowed hard and asked,

          “Are you sure?”

          “Yes, Dr. Brennan positively identified her.”  The FBI agent confirmed.

          “Can I see her?”  Tollar wondered, his voice cracking.

          “Sir, I really wouldn’t recommend it.  It’s best to remember her the way she was.”  Booth was surprised by the man’s emotional state.

          “I had hoped that they had just run away.  My poor lily.”  Charlie broke down and started crying. 

          Brennan stood on the other side of the special one-way glass window just dumbfounded.  Here the man had abused his own daughter and now he cried like a baby when he found out she was dead.  The forensic anthropologist pressed the send button on her phone and her partner excused himself as his phone rang.

          “What is it Bones?”  He asked after he closed the door.

          “I’m confused.  What just happened?”  She wondered, pointing to the blubbering Charlie Tollar.

          “Just because he abused his daughter didn’t mean in some sick and twisted way that he didn’t love her.  Anyway I figure if I hit him now with the evidence he might give us what we want.”  Booth said.

          “It’s very odd to me, I guess that part of human nature still escapes the logic of a normal family relationship.  Do you want me to bring Sherry in?”  Brennan asked.

          “Yes.  Keep her with you until I give the signal.  I hope to have him right where I want him by then.”  Her partner smiled.  Brennan nodded and ducked out into the hallway while Booth returned to the interrogation room.

          “Mr. Tollar I know this is hard but I’m afraid we need to continue.”  The FBI agent told him.

          “Yes, I just can’t believe she’s dead, I thought my wife had taken her and left.  I mean I found most of my wife’s things were missing when I went through the house.”  The distraught man explained.  Booth had a surprised look on his face and asked,

          “What do you mean, most of her things were missing?  Why would you then file a missing persons report?”

          On the other side of the window, Brennan turned to Sherry, who immediately began shouting,

          “He’s lying!  That son of a bitch is lying!”

          “All right.  We’ll straighten the story out.”  The forensic anthropologist hoped that her partner would be able to figure out who was really lying.  Every second that went by made her more uncomfortable to stand next to this woman.

          “I reported them missing because I thought she went to her mother’s place but when I drove over there her mother said she hadn’t seen Sherry or Lily in at least a week.  With her things missing and both of them gone I figured something must have happened to them.”  Charlie answered.

          “So you didn’t kill Lily and bury her in the basement and you didn’t put your wife’s car into Lake Anna with her still in it?”  The FBI agent questioned.

          “No!  Why would I do that and then report them missing?”  Tollar wondered.

          “To cover your own ass just like when you disguised yourself as your cousin to sell the house.  I checked into it.  Your name was still on the house, you needed the cash so you sold it.”  Booth could see from the man’s expression that he had him.

          “I admit that I did do that.  I needed the money to pay my credit cards off and I sold it.  I knew that Towers guy wasn’t going to do a thorough check and I figured they couldn’t come back to me if my appearance was different.”  The man said rubbing his eyes.

          “And what about the hole in the basement floor?”  The G-man pushed.

          “I remembered Sherry griping about the fact that the basement kept flooding so to save some money I was going to patch it myself.  I didn’t realize that my Lily was buried there, I swear.”  The look in the man’s eyes made booth realize that he really didn’t know.  He’d seen a lot of people try to act like they were oblivious but this guy really was.

          “All right what about the real Michael Hill?  He was killed with an elongated carpenter’s punch, something you would know how to use.”  Booth wanted to know.  There was a silence for a few moments before Tollar swallowed and answered.

          “I killed him.” 

          “Why?”  Was Booth’s next question.

          “He threatened to take Lily away from me.  We got into a heated argument and I grabbed the punch off the workbench.  The next thing I knew I conked him on the back of the head.  Then I stabbed him through the stomach.  After that I stabbed him in the leg and then the knee.  He bled to death on my shed floor.”  Tollar said.

          “And your neighbors didn’t hear anything?”  Booth asked.

          “I sound proofed the shed so I could make furniture.  It was my hobby and I would do it whenever I had the time.  My neighbors complained about the noise so I sound proofed the shed.”  He explained.

          “The police were able to substantiate that you were out of town when he was murdered.”  The FBI agent told him.

          “I had this big freezer out in the shed which I emptied out and stuffed his body in.  Then I was away on business for a few days for my real job as an insurance salesman.  When I came back I dumped his body in the lake.”  Charlie admitted.  Booth nodded and heaved a big sigh.  Brennan noticed and escorted Sherry into the room.  Charlie practically had a heart attack when he saw who it was.  Sherry took his pause to slap him across the face.

          “You killed my brother you bastard!”  She shouted.

          “Why did you leave?”  He asked completely ignoring the outburst as he held his hand to his face.

          “You were abusing us.  Why do you think?  That and I knew you killed my brother.”  Sherry defended.  This is where Brennan stepped in.

          “Can the two of you stop for a moment?”  Both gave her a look as she continued.

          “For two loving parents you sure don’t show it.  Lily’s pelvis was fractured so badly that it caused her to bleed internally until someone stabbed her in between tow of her Thoracic vertebrae and caused her to bleed externally.  Worse still whoever killed her let her bled to death on the kitchen floor.  Then they dug up a hole in the basement and buried her.  This morning we discovered that it was another type of carpenter’s tool that was used to stab Lily and Sherry told us that you did it Charlie.  Yet you tell a different story.  So which one of you did it?  Which one of you hated your own daughter enough to kill her?” 


	15. Chapter 15

**FBI Interrogation Room One, Friday at 3:15 pm**

          Brennan’s outburst hung in the air as if it were the humidity outside.  Neither one said anything so Booth picked up where his partner left off.

          “We know that one of you is lying and no one is leaving this room until we find out which one.  Charlie you bought the house in Richmond in nineteen eighty seven and then you would travel to visit your wife and daughter correct?”

          “Yes, I would visit once a week, usually on Saturdays.”  The man answered.

          “So the breaks to Lily’s arms and clavicle occurred while you were visiting?”  Booth asked.

          “Yes, I got angry and hurt her.  I accept the fact that I was a horrible father but I really didn’t kill Lily.”  Charlie explained.

          “You’re a liar.  You lived with us until you tried to kill me.”  Sherry remained adamant.  Before her ex-husband could say anything the FBI agent spoke up.

          “I have a team searching your house Mr. Tollar.  We’ll see if what you say is true.  Bones tell us about the weapon that killed Lily.”

          “I had Dr. Addy run carpenter’s punches through the database and the weapon was a small punch that left T-shaped marks on both the Thoracic vertebrae.  It would have taken some force but it could have been done by a man or by a woman.”  Brennan told them.

          “Uh huh and the shattered pelvis?”  Booth wondered.

          “The original fractures could have occurred from a fall or from being hit with a large object, such as a car.”  The forensic anthropologist said.  “In a case of a fall, the breaks in the bone could have spread over time between being compressed by the house or from someone dragging the body down the basement stairs.”  She continued.

          “And you said Lily bled to death right?”  Her partner asked.  At this point Brennan wondered why Booth was making her go through all this again.

          “Yes from her internal and external wounds she would have bled to death in a matter of an hour.”  She acknowledged.

          “So whoever killed her could have taken her to the hospital and saved her.”  The FBI agent questioned.  Charlie looked sickened while Sherry looked nervous and sweaty.  Brennan now understood Booth’s motives and noted the suspect’s behavior.  She then answered her partner.

          “Yes, that was probably the time the spent digging a hole in the basement to bury her in.”  Sherry brushed past booth and grabbed the room’s garbage can.  She vomited into it.  When she stood up, the woman held her stomach.  Booth backed away from the can as the stink began to rise.

          “Well that’s a first.”  He muttered sarcastically.

          “You killed Lily!”  Charlie accused. 

          “You’ll find the punch I used in his shed.”  She said as she backed up against the wall.

          “Why?”  Her ex-husband wondered.

          “We got into an argument upstairs and Lily ran for the staircase.  She was wearing socks and she slipped on the hardwood stairs.  Lily hit her head and by the time I reached the bottom she wasn’t moving.  I panicked and dragged her body into the kitchen.”  Sherry said.

          “Why did you put the punch through her back?  Why didn’t you call for help?”  Brennan asked, her anger rising.

          “I had to cover up what happened so I used a hammer and drove the punch, which I found in the kitchen drawer, into her back to make it look like Charlie did it.  Then I went downstairs and made the hole in the basement a little bigger so she would fit in it.  Once I buried her, I cleaned the floor up and grabbed my things.  Then I drove over to Charlie’s and he wasn’t home so I went into the backyard and hid the punch.  While I was hiding it, I found the punch that killed my brother so I came up with the idea of putting it in my car and burying it in the lake where they found my brother.  I knew Charlie had killed Mike and now I had the proof.  I figured that the police would have enough to arrest and convict him.  This way Lily didn’t die in vain.”  Sherry explained.

          “You could have called for help and your daughter wouldn’t have been dead at all.  The police would have discovered the punch eventually.  There is no statue of limitations on murder.”  Booth told her.

          “I just didn’t know what to do.”  The deranged woman tried to explain. 

          “Well you’ll have the next twenty five to life to figure it out or maybe Virginia will decide to put you out of your misery.”  Booth answered.

          “I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Lily Tollar and obstruction of justice.”  The FBI agent continued.  He read Sherry her rights and then arrested Charlie.  With the two in custody the case was closed but it felt different than all the other closed cases to Brennan.  She watched the two being lead away and Booth grabbing the nasty smelling garbage can.

          “Come on Bones.  Let’s go.”  He said.

**Booth’s Apartment, Friday at 7:30 pm**

          The partners entered the apartment and Booth took Brennan’s coat.  He hung it up and went next door to retrieve Parker.  His elderly neighbor across the hall, Rose, had been watching the boy since his normal babysitter hadn’t been available on such short notice.  The FBI agent knocked on the door and heard his son in the background.   Rose opened the door and smiled.

          “Senor Booth, so very good to see you.  Parker, come here little one.”  The boy ran over to his dad.

          “Hey bub.  Where you good to Senora Rose?” 

          “Yes.”  He smiled.

          “All right, what do you say?”  Booth asked him.

          “Thank you Senora.”  The little boy said.

          “De nada, Parker.”  Rose told him.  Parker then ran across the hall.

          “Thanks for everything Rose.  I really appreciate it.”  Booth said as he pulled out his wallet.

          “Put your money away Senor.  I love watching Parker.  You do not need to pay me.”  The elderly woman smiled and patted him on the arm.

          “Are you sure?  I know he can be a handful.”  The FBI agent said.

          “He is a good little boy who takes after his father.  It was nice to have him over.”  Rose reassured him.  That’s when they heard a shriek from across the hall.

          “Dr. Bwrennan!” 

          “Uh oh sounds like he’s torturing Bones.  I gotta go.  Gracias Senora.”  Booth said.  She gave a nod and let him run across the hall to find Brennan’s arms latched around Parker’s waist and holding him on her lap.

          “Where’s the conflagration Booth?”  She asked.

          “It’s ‘Where’s the fire’, Bones.  I heard someone shrieking and I figured Parker was being brutal on you.”  He teased. 

          “No, we were just playing and he wanted to sit on my lap.”  Brennan smiled.

          “I missed you Dr…” she didn’t let him finish.

          “I did too.  Listen I’ve been thinking we need a new nickname for you to use.”  The forensic anthropologist said.

          “Like what?”  Parker asked.

          “How about you think about it and we’ll talk later.  Now I think your dad wants to be getting something for dinner.”  Brennan told him.

          “She’s right bub, go wash up.”  Booth smiled.

          “Ok.”  The boy was happy to oblige and got off Brennan’s lap and headed toward the bathroom.  A big smile was spread across Booth’s face and the forensic anthropologist gave him a look.

          “What’s with that look?”  She asked.

          “You are something, you know that?”  He wondered.

          “Ok.  So what’s for dinner?”  Brennan changed the subject. 

          “Well I was kinda hoping you would know what you want.  Like pizza or burgers or Thai, although I know Parker won’t eat Thai.”  Booth said.

          “Thai does sound good and I bet while you go get it, I could make Parker something unless he wants chicken nuggets.”  She told him.  Her partner just couldn’t stop smiling and it was starting to creep her out.

          “Why do you keep smiling like that?”  Before Booth could answer, Parker came out of the bathroom. 

          “What’s for dinner daddy?”  He asked.

          “How does chicken nuggets sound?”  His dad wondered.

          “Yeah!  Let’s go!”  Parker was excited. 

          “All right, Bones you call the Thai place and I’ll make a chicken nugget run and pick our food up on the way back.”  Booth said.  Brennan nodded and headed for the kitchen where the Thai menu was tacked to the fridge.  It was then that she noticed how she knew where almost everything was in Booth’s apartment.  She shook her head, pulled her cell phone out, and made the order. 

          Booth was back in fifteen minutes.  He mumbled something about the fact that the guy manning the drive-thru at the Burger King was having some serious issues and the three sat down at the kitchen table.  Parker eagerly tucked into his chicken nuggets and Booth and Brennan their Thai food. 

          About half an hour later, Booth picked up the empty cartons and wrappers and flung them into the garbage can.

          “I do love easy clean up.”  He said.

          “I’ll say.  So what now?”  Brennan asked.

          “Well I do believe that tonight is going to be a clear night so let’s go out.”  Booth suggested. 

          “Sounds good.  Where to though?”  She wondered.

          “A little place I know that’s just around the corner.”  Her partner smiled.  Brennan shrugged and grabbed her purse.

          “Oh you won’t need that.  Come on.  Grab your coat bub.”  Booth told Parker.  The little boy did as he was told and his father handed Brennan her coat as well.  They then headed down the hall and up a short stairwell to the roof.  Booth had been right it was a clear night.

_From underneath the trees, we watch the sky; Confusing stars for satellites; I never dreamed that you’d be mine; But here we are, we’re here tonight…_

          Booth grabbed a bag and some lawn chairs from behind one of the exhaust fans and he and Parker quickly set the chairs up.  From the bag, the FBI agent pulled out a telescope.

          “You think we’ll get any good ones tonight Daddy?”  Parker asked.

          “I hope so buddy.  Let’s get this thing all set up.”  Booth said as he helped his son.  Brennan watched from her lawn chair and smiled. 

_Singing Amen, I’m alive; Singing Amen, I’m alive…_

          Booth sat down next to Brennan as Parker played with the telescope hoping to catch anything interesting.

          “I have a question Seeley.”  His partner said.

_If everyone cared and nobody cried; If everyone loved and nobody lied; If everyone shared and swallowed their pride; We’d see the day when nobody died; And I’m singing…_

          “You’ve never been shy before Bones.  What’s on your mind?”  Booth asked.

          “Why did Sherry come back if she was the one that murdered Lily?”  Brennan inquired.

_Amen I, I’m alive; Amen I, I’m alive…_

          “I think she wanted to make sure that her husband took the fall for it.  Like that would somehow make up for what she had done.  She was also probably banking on the fact that she knew Charlie had killed her brother and that we would believe a ‘victim’ over an ex-con and murderer.”  Booth explained.  Brennan nodded and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

_And in the air the fireflies; Our only light in paradise; We’ll show the world they were wrong; And teach them all to sing along…_

          The city lights usually doused the stars but Parker didn’t care.  He just enjoyed watching the night sky and spending time with his dad and Dr. Brennan.  A smile spread across his face as he watched a plane gain altitude in the sky.

_Singing Amen I’m alive; Singing Amen I’m alive…_

          “Why?”  Brennan asked the incomplete question as she felt the light breeze on her face.  Booth looked over and wondered,

          “Why what, Bones?”

_If everyone cared and nobody cried; If everyone loved and nobody lied; If everyone shared and swallowed their pride; We’d see the day when nobody died; If everyone cared and nobody cried; If everyone loved and nobody lied; If everyone shared and swallowed their pride; We’d see the day when nobody died…  
_           “Why do people have to be so horrible to one another?  Sherry Tollar could have saved her daughter and yet the first thing she thought of was to cover it up.  Worse still she tried to frame her husband for crimes he did not commit.  I’ve been all over the world and seen things that most people could not even fathom and yet I’m still surprised by the behavior people right here at home.”  Brennan said.

_And as we lie beneath the stars; We realize how small we are; If they could love like you and me; Imagine what the world could be…_

          Booth thought about what she said for a minute and then grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together.

          “If everyone could put aside their petty differences and be nice to one another than we’d be living in a better society, one that doesn’t depend on the police, the FBI, and the Jeffersonian to catch murderers, thieves, and all sorts of other criminals.”  He told her. 

_If everyone cared and nobody cried; If everyone loved and nobody lied; If everyone shared and swallowed their pride; We’d see the day when nobody died…_

          Brennan looked over at him and gave a half a smile.  Humans were a brutal race but they had their good qualities.  Booth was a good man, good father, and a good partner.  She had no idea what she’d do without him.  He must have been sensing what she was feeling because he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

_We’d see the day, we’d see the day; When nobody died; We’d see the day, we’d see the day; When nobody died; We’d see the day when nobody died._


	16. Chapter 16

**Jeffersonian Medico Legal Labs, Monday at 12:00 pm**

          Dr. Temperance Brennan sat at her desk finishing off some of the paperwork for the closing of the Tollar cases.  She had enjoyed the weekend she spent with Parker and Booth but now it was back to work.  The forensic anthropologist finished typing up the last of her report and was running spell check when a knock on her door diverted her attention.

          “Afternoon Bones.”  A familiar voice said.

          “Hello Booth.  Do we have another case already?”  She asked.

          “Just some unfinished paperwork, I’m afraid.  I was hoping you were done so I could pass it along to the DA this afternoon.”  Her partner FBI agent Seeley Booth told her.

          “Well you can have one of them.  All I have to do is print off my report and Charlie Tollar’s part is done.  I have just a little more to do on Sherry Tollar though.”  Brennan said.

          “How much more on Sherry?”  He wondered.

          “A couple more paragraphs then I’ll be done.”  She informed him.

          “All right well you finish that off while I go get us some lunch.”  Booth smiled his ‘charm’ smile.  Brennan couldn’t help but smile back before her partner did an about face and headed for the lab doors.

          Thirty minutes later, when he returned with Thai food, Brennan stopped her typing.  She just had to look it over and both reports would be ready to go.

          “That smells delicious.”  She said.

          “It better be, the line at the place was out the door.”  Booth smirked.  His partner left her desk and the two enjoyed their lunch on her couch. 

          “That was delicious.”  Brennan smiled about ten minutes later.

          “You practically inhaled it.  Did you actually taste the food?”  The G-man asked.

          “I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was.  Breakfast kind of took a back seat this morning, I got in around five.”  She told him.

          “Five a.m.?  Bones, you gotta stop that, you’re going to drop over one of these days.”  Booth shook his head.

          “Yes well I wasn’t otherwise occupied so I figured I’d get a head start.”  Brennan teased.

          “Well then I think tonight we’d better change that.  Rebecca is going to pick Parker up around seven so you could come over and say goodbye.”  Booth smiled.

          “Oh I’d love that.  Parker is such a good kid.  When do you get him next?”  She asked.

          “Hopefully the weekend after next.”  Her partner couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Brennan and Parker getting along so well.  He then changed the subject.

          “Well we’d better get those reports over to the DA.” 

          “All right, let me get all the files into the boxes and then we can take them out to your SUV.”  Brennan stood from her seat and went to her desk.  She began loading the boxes and Booth collected their garbage and disposed of it.  Before long they had the boxes and were walking out to the big black Government Issue vehicle. 

          It didn’t take long to get the files to the DA and they were back in the SUV about thirty-five minutes later. 

          “Well I guess I’ll see you tonight.  I have a few World War Two soldiers that need identifying.”  Brennan said expecting her partner to make the next right and head for the lab but he didn’t.

          “You missed the turn Booth.”  She said.

          “No, I didn’t.”  He smirked as he made the next right. 

          “Where are we going?”  The forensic anthropologist asked.

          “You’ll see.”  Is all Booth told her.  About sixty-five minutes later, they pulled up in front of the Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg Medium Security Facility.

          “What are we doing here?”  Brennan asked.

          “Seeing your father.  I already asked Cam and she said you could have the rest of the afternoon off.”  Booth told her.  She gave him a look.

          “No worries Bones.  I’m here with you.  I promised we’d do this together and what better timing than in between cases.”  He shrugged. 

          “I’m not ready for this.  I can’t…” she couldn’t finish the sentence.  Booth leaned over and pulled her head close to him, giving her a kiss on the temple.

          “You’ll do fine.  I’ll be there with you.  Now come on.”  Her partner exited the car and she slowly followed.  They walked into the building and Booth flashed his badge to the guard behind the security desk.

          “I’m Special Agent Seeley Booth from the FBI this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan.  We’re here to see Max Keenan.” 

          “Yes sir.  I’ll have him in the visiting room in a few minutes.”  The guard picked up the phone and quickly called the sector where Max was being held.  Then he handed them special visitor badges and told him to follow the guard behind the fence.  A few minutes later, they reached an empty visitor’s room.

          “He’ll be out momentarily.  They’re in the middle of recreation time.”  The guard informed them. 

          “Thanks.”  Booth nodded and the guard left them alone.  Sure enough Max came out in the orange jumpsuit and smiled.

          “I wondered if you had gotten my letter.  It’s so good to see you Temperance.”  Her father said, giving Booth only a nod.

          “Yes I got your letter Dad.  We were in the middle of a case.”  Brennan said flatly.

          “I understand.  I guess you came to talk about your mother’s side of the family.”  Max said.

          “Yes we are.”  Booth gave a half a smile.

          “Well I take it that she let you read the note Booth and I appreciate you being here.”  Keenan smiled and then continued.

          “Ruth had two sisters and a brother.  Sadly her brother was killed a few years ago in a car accident.  Her sisters are alive and that’s the last that I’ve heard.”  Max told them.

          “That’s it?”  Brennan asked.

          “If I directly tell you anymore there could be trouble.  I don’t need anyone coming after you or them.  The last thing I want is someone getting hurt.”  He said.

          “You have to be able to give me more.  We can’t go off of that with no names or addresses.”  His daughter told him her confusion and anger rose.

          “Bones, take it easy.”  Booth tried to calm her down.

          “I won’t take it easy!  Mom said I should forgive you for what you’ve done.  She said that you did what you had to out of love but at every turn I find myself alone.  You took off and you took Russ with you.  Now you tell me I have two aunts but won’t tell me their names?  I have had it Dad.  I have my own life now with a man that I would spend the rest of my life with and there is no way he’d ever leave me.  I’m done with this stupid game you keep playing.”  With that Brennan stood up and left the room.   Booth sighed and slowly rose from his seat.

          “She hates me doesn’t she?”  Max asked.

          “No, I just think that she needs some time.  A lot has been happening in the past week and it was dumb of me to try so soon.”  The FBI Agent turned and headed for the door.

          “It was you she was talking about wasn’t it?  I’ve seen how much you care for Temperance; the way you look at her.  You take care of her like I couldn’t.”  Keenan said which made Booth stop in his tracks.

          “I’ll do my best.”  He promised.  With that the G-man left the room and Max was let out of the now empty space.  Booth heaved a sigh and slowly walked back down the hall and left the prison to find Brennan leaning up against the SUV.  She had her sunglasses on to cover the fact that she had been crying.  He unlocked the vehicle and the two climbed in and started the trip back to Washington.

**The End** _  
_


End file.
